Take a closer look at the animal kingdom at the Mann Wildlife Museum at the Montgomery Zoo and you will see that the 14-foot polar bear or the family of black bears only look like they could eat you alive. In reality, they won't move a muscle during your visit.

Boasting more than 270 animal displays, the Mann Museum is one of the finest collections of North American wildlife collections in the nation.

The 28,000-square-foot wildlife museum features displays of bear, wolf, freshwater and saltwater fish, reptiles, birds, small
mammals and more -- all in realistic display settings and at a 360-degree viewpoint.

"We went down there not knowing what to
expect, and we were shocked," Shonnie Taylor of the Alabama Bureau
of Tourism and Travel told the Birmingham News. "It's jumped high on our list of
recommended places for anyone headed to that part of the state."

The bigger attractions -- the larger mammals
and carnivores -- bring museum-goers in by the dozens each day to the 'touch and feel' attractions, that allow allow your senses to take over to understand the habitat of each animal.

There is much more to the Mann Wildlife Museum than present-day beasts. The museum also features authentic fossils of Sabertooth Tiger,
Mastodon tusks and bones, 80,000-year-old Wooly Mammoth tusks,
3,300-year-old whale bones, a 200-year-old trap, and many other artifacts.

The Mann Wildlife Museum is located at 2301 Coliseum Parkway off Northern Boulevard and is open Monday- Sunday from 9 to 5 p.m.